Hey Ladies: Rock Your Red Pumps for AIDS Awareness!

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Tuesday, March 10, marks the 10th annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Across the country, organizations use the observance day -- and often the entire month of March -- as an opportunity to address the epidemic as it pertains to women and girls.

Karyn Watkins Lee and Luvvie Ajayi launched the Chicago-based nonprofit in 2009 with a focus on the African-American community. It started as a social media campaign -- #RockTheRedPump -- in which they asked bloggers to write about the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls. Since then, more than 2,500 writers have indeed rocked it. They’ve also placed a Rock the Red Pump badge on their websites and other digital platforms.

To further kick-start the conversation, the campaign asks women to don a pair of red shoes on March 10--any kind will do, whether ruby slippers, Nike Air Max or Manolo slingbacks (and for the fellas out there: you can “don a dope red tie”).

The project has grown over the years to include a variety of events, including an annual Rock the RED Fashion Show and a series called Cupcakes & Condoms, in which the women discuss safer sex issues while enjoying some sweets.

This year also includes a RED Power Convo on March 10 in New York City. In partnership with Essence magazine, the evening offers cocktails and a panel discussion with AIDS activist Hydeia Broadbent, amfAR vice president of research Rowena Johnston, and Deborah Levine, who is with Love Heals and the National Black Women’s HIV/AIDS Network. Charreah Jackson, an editor at Essence magazine, will moderate.